Goalkeeper's absurd own goal, the ball flies at a dizzying height: Chapecoense is relegated

Anderson Silva da Paixao has taken the concept of the goalkeeper's own goal to new levels, and not just in the figurative sense. An own goal like that of the Chapecoense goalkeeper had never been seen before, with the ball going in a completely vertical direction, rising higher and higher, until it reached a dizzying height. The big problem for Anderson was the law of gravity, formulated by Isaac Newton: planet Earth exerted an inevitable pull and the ball fell vertically, ending up in the net. A decisive episode that mathematically condemned Chapéu to relegation to the second division of Brazilian football.

The green-and-white team hosted Mirassol at the “Arena Condá”, already in an extremely difficult situation: a 2-1 home defeat sealed their exit from the Brasileirao, with five matches left to play. Chapecoense remains in last place with 21 points after 33 matches (with only 4 wins recorded): even if they were to win all their remaining matches and reach the quota of 36 points, they would not be able to reach the survival zone.

The disastrous result of the last match was the culmination of a truly poor season in all aspects: with the weakest attack and the weakest defense, it was impossible to save the division. Thus, Chape is relegated from the division just one year after promotion, at a particularly difficult moment for the club: November 29 marks the tenth anniversary of the 2016 air disaster, which caused 71 deaths and destroyed the entire team.

In the match against Mirassol, which is just a few points above the survival zone, Chape took the lead in the 12th minute, then conceded the equalizer with a penalty in the extra minutes of the first half and, at the beginning of the second half, suffered a surreal own goal caused by Anderson. Shaylon fired a shot from outside the area towards the center of the goal, which was quite easy to neutralize and the goalkeeper did just that, but cleared the ball too high, 7-8 meters above the crossbar. Then, in a clumsy attempt to control it during the fall, he sent it miserably into his own net.

Of course, it wasn't this episode that doomed Chapecoense, who would most likely have been relegated in the next match, but Anderson's thoughtless – and also somewhat funny – gesture was the fitting crowning touch of this season. 

Now the objective is to end the season with dignity, while the club has published an official statement, promising that it will do everything to return to the highest category as soon as possible: "Chapecoense is much more than a football club. It is part of the identity of a city, the pride of a region and the lives of thousands of people who have learned to celebrate, believe and start everything from scratch together with Verdao. TO START EVERYTHING FROM THE BEGINNING. Whenever necessary. Wearing this shirt and carrying this emblem means understanding the greatness of our history and the responsibility that it represents. We accept and share the disappointment for a season that did not meet expectations. We hope that we never lack the humility to admit mistakes, the courage to start everything from scratch and the determination to move forward."